Frustration with our healthcare justified; killing CEOs is not

Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is being hailed by many as a hero.

There’s something profoundly wrong with that.

From the time of Thompson’s murder on a Manhattan street caught in surveillance camera photos, to snippets of Mangione’s alleged movements while on the run, online praise for Mangione has run neck and neck with vitriol for health insurers.

Google removed a flood of negative McDonald’s reviews after a fast-food employee in an Altoona, Pa., location reported Mangione to police and he was arrested. “More like Narc-donalds…” wrote one user.

As Newsweek reported, an online fundraiser created to help Mangione with his legal fees (with a goal of $200,000) has surpassed $10,000. More than 380 donors have thus far contributed.

One anonymous $20 giver wrote, “Thank you for your service sir I hope this is only the beginning.” Another $20 patron echoed, “Thank you.”

Thank you for what? Leaving Thompson’s two sons without a father? How exactly will that change how healthcare is managed in this country?

Mangione appears to have been inspired by the Unabomber, according to an NYPD intel analysis report obtained by ABC News. The report warned that like Ted Kaczynski — whose 17-year bombing campaign killed three and injured 23 people — Mangione may become a “martyr” who inspires “a wide range of extremists” to act.

That’s the problem with holding up murderous vigilantes as heroes; they inspire other people willing to kill to draw attention to their beliefs.

Would anti-fossil fuel activists be justified in executing oil company executives or the owners of local gas stations?

Of course not, but zealots would beg to differ.

How is Mangione different from the disgruntled employee who opens fire at a former workplace, or the random shooter with a grudge against society who decides to take out his anger on mall patrons?

The fawning online reception for Mangione is a chilling indication of a moral nadir in this country.

In handwritten pages Mangione had on him, he said “he’s frustrated with the healthcare system in the United States,” NYPD Chief of Detective Joe Kenny told ABC News’ “Good Morning America.”

Who isn’t?

Healthcare and the healthcare insurance industry is riddled with bad practices, from excessive claim denials to actions such as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s recent short-lived decision to put time limits on anesthesia coverage.Bi

“We’ve gotten to a point where healthcare is so inaccessible and unaffordable, people are justified in their frustrations,” Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, told CBS Mornings.

Frustration is justified, killing is not.

After anesthesiologists slammed Anthem Blue Cross and the insurer reversed its plan, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-Bronx, sponsored a bill that would ban health insurers from imposing arbitrary time limits on patients under anesthesia.

That’s how you affect change, that’s how you reverse bad policies and take action to improve the lives of Americans.

As the accused killer fought extradition to New York in a Pennsylvania court, he shouted: “It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and the lived experience!”

He’s partly right. Lauding an accused killer is an insult to the intelligence of every law-abiding American.

Take Mangione off the pedestal.

— Boston Herald